Mallory Marin Group 6 What I learned from these interviews were that the time period was very unfair according to race, money, and power. For example, Jim Cole, who was a packing house worker, was working at a meat shop, and he finally wanted to fulfill his dreams and become part of the AFL union. But it was obvious why he didn’t get the job. Even though he was excellent at his job, it didn’t matter. He was African American, and that’s what really mattered in the eyes of the corporations. Like he said, they “Just didn’t want a Negro man to have what he should.” I think that the people were overreacting about race back then. Another thing that I learned from the interviews was about Mr. Garavelli, and he was a stonecutter. What he explained overall was that no matter what the conditions, you still had to work. He talked about the silica causing many deaths of the young men, and how it was “like a knife in your chest.” That made me think about how unfair it was that the owners, no matter what the condition, still made the workers work harder than ever, even if it meant them breathing in such a harmful dust and the possibility of death. Finally, the last thing that I gained from these interviews was it didn’t matter what age you were, if there was work to do, you better get it done. For instance, Alice Caudle who worked in a mill, was talking about how she had been working in the mills as long as she could remember. She even says that “I was so little I had to stand on a box to reach my work.” She also mentioned that she had starting working at an alarming age of 6 years old. In conclusion, I think that this scenario is a little ridiculous for a 6-year-old. To sum up, everything that I learned in these interviews helped me understand better of what the Great Depression was really like.
Group 6
Kristen Feige
Just by listening to the recordings, I learned a lot about the Great Depression, especially that people were affected by it in many different ways. Many people struggled through the Great Depression, others, I found, actually got through the hard time with a little more ease and confidence. I also learned of different jobs and events that occurred during this time. For example, after listening to Mrs. Mayme Reese Housewife's interview, I found that for recreational fun, women would get together about twice a year and make quilts. Then, they would sell these quilts at fairs. They called these get-togethers "Quilt Parties". Besides "Quilt Parties", I learned about "Rent Parties". These were get-togethers apartment owners would host to earn some money. A woman named Bernice used these parties to earn enough money to pay her rent. Many people who couldn't afford their rent, rented their rooms to others to earn money. More significant information I took from the interviews was the knowledge that workers weren't respected. In many cases, workers weren't allowed the right to a union and had to hide union activity from their bosses. If they were caught, they would be fired. Workers were also not trusted by their bosses. In the interview with Mrs. Marie Haggerty Maid, she said that her boss would test to see if she was trustworthy by leaving money around the house to see if she would steal it or not. Besides the boss disrespecting the workers, I found that workers had very dangerous jobs. In many of the interviews, the workers talked about the vast number of injuries and deaths that came to the workers who took those jobs. Some workers were smart in their jobs and found ways to avoid hazards, but for other workers, hazards were unavoidable and they got diseases, were injured, or died. Mr. Garavelli, a stonecutter, was one of the workers who found safer ways to go about their jobs. As a stonecutter, he was in danger of inhaling poiseness Silica but moved to another end of the shed where there was less dust. In conclusion, I learned from the interviews, that the Great Depression was filled with many worries and disasters, most of which could not be avoided because it was the only way people could earn a living.
Yasmine Joobeur
Group 6 The thesis I had learned from the interviews is that nothing comes accessible or easy in life. So you have to work real hard to get what you want. Like the old saying/song “You can’t always get what you want.” During the interviews, many people many had their own endeavors and thought of different ways to achieve these endeavors. Such as, when Mrs. Marie Haggerty, was be tested at her job as a nurse maid. This is because, people hired you on your looks and even if you may have looked honest you still would be tested out. To make sure you were worthy enough to be employed. Like Marie was, since her boss put a five dollar bill on the bed to see what she would do with it. So, even if you get a job you need work many burdensome tasks to still hold that job.Also, when Jim Cole an African American Packing House Worker wanted to work in the AFL union (Amalgamated Butchers and Meat Cutters). They would allow him to do so.Just because he was an African American and African Americans still did not have a similar amount of equal rights that whites have. This would be another example, of how sometimes you can’t always get what you want. Though sometimes you can get some advantages rather than disadvantages in life. Such as Mr. Garavelli was working as a stonecutter and during the old days many of them died from silica. Though now they had improved the efficiency of the machines, causing less people to die from the silica. Though Mr. Gravalli said ,"I don't make so much money, but I don't get so much silica." So even if you get some postive situations you will get some negative, just like Mr. Gravalli. Last, another aspect that shows that people had rather difficult times during their life, espically during The Great Depression. For example, like Clyde Smith( a street vendor) had to make up a ryhme a rhyme,"Heighho fish man, bring down your dish pan. Fish ain't but five cents a pound." This caused many people to buy fish. Since the ryhme had caught their attention and they were contented to find out that fish was only five cents a puond. During this time not many people have money. So in the end I found out that desperate times call for desperate measures!
Pamela Nicholas
As I listened to more and more interview answers, I started to get a better fell of the Great Depression. Before hearing any of the excerpts or even starting this project, I knew very little about the Great Depression. A lI really knew was that is was sad time because a lack of money, casing people to lose jobs. I didn’t even know the hardships of the time period. After hearing what these common people of the Great Depression had to say, I really learned how it felt to live during that time. For example, the hardships of an iron worker, (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/3a.wav), the job of Chris Thorsten who, because of his dangerous job, was hurt by being squeezed between a crane to the point where his collar bone broke, ribs, and also 3 vertebrae. This caused him to be laid for 4 years. No work meant not any pay at all. I couldn’t imagine having to go to a job with a high risk of being killed or severely hurt. You never know when some thing might occur that could kill you like the 2 men who were killed on the Hotel New Yorker. And since this is a real response from someone during the Great Depression, I can feel their hardships. I now understand why it was so hard to live during that time. Today, it would be very rare for a job to be that unsafe, where it was common for people working to get hurt or killed. I also understand the lengths people went to just be able to get money to take care of themselves and their family; to raise their own life, to provide a plate of food on the plate and a warm home.Mr. Garavelli,(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/1a.wav) answering the question on whether the dust was bad where he worked, stone sheds. He help me learn that a worker’s job was difficult and had problems that workers had to deal and cope with to make a decent amount of money, This hazard would cause people to die from silica According to Mr. Garavelli, the more money you make at your work, the more likely you are going to die sooner since they are paid more to be near the dust that could take away their lives. He said it was tough to live in the early days and that the stone sheds were so bad that he wouldn’t even let his own son work there at all. As I read along with the interviews, I noticed that some of the people have bad grammar and way of pronouncing words. This helps me learn that early back, people didn’t get a large amount of education as they started young to work.A man at Eddie’s bar (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/6.wav) that had been in New York for 25 years. He talks about how New York was like with pimps, shooting, backbiting, all around the streets. He didn’t like the street life and he didn’t like New York at All. This excerpt showed me hoe it felt to walk down the street in the Famous New York. As much as I love New York, I don’t think I would have wanted to lived there either because of what lays there, I have learned how it felt to live in their time in the same place that I love at the moment. This helps me connect to the past and make a comparison to now. Grammy Miller(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/9a.wav) who askked about having to do the work that men usually did one day in the fall while her husband was hunting for the other boar he had killed before bringing his first boar. Grammy waited until midnight for her husband to return. So in concern of the pig, she cuts it up and places it on a sled to bring inside. When the after comes home, he was utterly surprised. This excerpt also let me understand how it felt to live during this time period as a woman who was neglected of her abilities, only because she was a woman, If I lived in this time, I would stick up for myself and tell the Grammy’s husband sand tell him myself that women could do any thing a man can! But these responses helped me understand what women of bravery and confidence. I felt sad that women were separated from men during this time.
Group 6
What I learned from these interviews were that the time period was very unfair according to race, money, and power. For example, Jim Cole, who was a packing house worker, was working at a meat shop, and he finally wanted to fulfill his dreams and become part of the AFL union. But it was obvious why he didn’t get the job. Even though he was excellent at his job, it didn’t matter. He was African American, and that’s what really mattered in the eyes of the corporations. Like he said, they “Just didn’t want a Negro man to have what he should.” I think that the people were overreacting about race back then. Another thing that I learned from the interviews was about Mr. Garavelli, and he was a stonecutter. What he explained overall was that no matter what the conditions, you still had to work. He talked about the silica causing many deaths of the young men, and how it was “like a knife in your chest.” That made me think about how unfair it was that the owners, no matter what the condition, still made the workers work harder than ever, even if it meant them breathing in such a harmful dust and the possibility of death. Finally, the last thing that I gained from these interviews was it didn’t matter what age you were, if there was work to do, you better get it done. For instance, Alice Caudle who worked in a mill, was talking about how she had been working in the mills as long as she could remember. She even says that “I was so little I had to stand on a box to reach my work.” She also mentioned that she had starting working at an alarming age of 6 years old. In conclusion, I think that this scenario is a little ridiculous for a 6-year-old. To sum up, everything that I learned in these interviews helped me understand better of what the Great Depression was really like.
Group 6
Kristen Feige
Just by listening to the recordings, I learned a lot about the Great Depression, especially that people were affected by it in many different ways. Many people struggled through the Great Depression, others, I found, actually got through the hard time with a little more ease and confidence. I also learned of different jobs and events that occurred during this time. For example, after listening to Mrs. Mayme Reese Housewife's interview, I found that for recreational fun, women would get together about twice a year and make quilts. Then, they would sell these quilts at fairs. They called these get-togethers "Quilt Parties". Besides "Quilt Parties", I learned about "Rent Parties". These were get-togethers apartment owners would host to earn some money. A woman named Bernice used these parties to earn enough money to pay her rent. Many people who couldn't afford their rent, rented their rooms to others to earn money. More significant information I took from the interviews was the knowledge that workers weren't respected. In many cases, workers weren't allowed the right to a union and had to hide union activity from their bosses. If they were caught, they would be fired. Workers were also not trusted by their bosses. In the interview with Mrs. Marie Haggerty Maid, she said that her boss would test to see if she was trustworthy by leaving money around the house to see if she would steal it or not. Besides the boss disrespecting the workers, I found that workers had very dangerous jobs. In many of the interviews, the workers talked about the vast number of injuries and deaths that came to the workers who took those jobs. Some workers were smart in their jobs and found ways to avoid hazards, but for other workers, hazards were unavoidable and they got diseases, were injured, or died. Mr. Garavelli, a stonecutter, was one of the workers who found safer ways to go about their jobs. As a stonecutter, he was in danger of inhaling poiseness Silica but moved to another end of the shed where there was less dust. In conclusion, I learned from the interviews, that the Great Depression was filled with many worries and disasters, most of which could not be avoided because it was the only way people could earn a living.
Yasmine Joobeur
Group 6
The thesis I had learned from the interviews is that nothing comes accessible or easy in life. So you have to work real hard to get what you want. Like the old saying/song “You can’t always get what you want.” During the interviews, many people many had their own endeavors and thought of different ways to achieve these endeavors. Such as, when Mrs. Marie Haggerty, was be tested at her job as a nurse maid. This is because, people hired you on your looks and even if you may have looked honest you still would be tested out. To make sure you were worthy enough to be employed. Like Marie was, since her boss put a five dollar bill on the bed to see what she would do with it. So, even if you get a job you need work many burdensome tasks to still hold that job. Also, when Jim Cole an African American Packing House Worker wanted to work in the AFL union (Amalgamated Butchers and Meat Cutters). They would allow him to do so. Just because he was an African American and African Americans still did not have a similar amount of equal rights that whites have. This would be another example, of how sometimes you can’t always get what you want. Though sometimes you can get some advantages rather than disadvantages in life. Such as Mr. Garavelli was working as a stonecutter and during the old days many of them died from silica. Though now they had improved the efficiency of the machines, causing less people to die from the silica. Though Mr. Gravalli said ,"I don't make so much money, but I don't get so much silica." So even if you get some postive situations you will get some negative, just like Mr. Gravalli. Last, another aspect that shows that people had rather difficult times during their life, espically during The Great Depression. For example, like Clyde Smith( a street vendor) had to make up a ryhme a rhyme,"Heighho fish man, bring down your dish pan. Fish ain't but five cents a pound." This caused many people to buy fish. Since the ryhme had caught their attention and they were contented to find out that fish was only five cents a puond. During this time not many people have money. So in the end I found out that desperate times call for desperate measures!
Pamela Nicholas
As I listened to more and more interview answers, I started to get a better fell of the Great Depression. Before hearing any of the excerpts or even starting this project, I knew very little about the Great Depression. A l I really knew was that is was sad time because a lack of money, casing people to lose jobs. I didn’t even know the hardships of the time period. After hearing what these common people of the Great Depression had to say, I really learned how it felt to live during that time. For example, the hardships of an iron worker, (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/3a.wav), the job of Chris Thorsten who, because of his dangerous job, was hurt by being squeezed between a crane to the point where his collar bone broke, ribs, and also 3 vertebrae. This caused him to be laid for 4 years. No work meant not any pay at all. I couldn’t imagine having to go to a job with a high risk of being killed or severely hurt. You never know when some thing might occur that could kill you like the 2 men who were killed on the Hotel New Yorker. And since this is a real response from someone during the Great Depression, I can feel their hardships. I now understand why it was so hard to live during that time. Today, it would be very rare for a job to be that unsafe, where it was common for people working to get hurt or killed. I also understand the lengths people went to just be able to get money to take care of themselves and their family; to raise their own life, to provide a plate of food on the plate and a warm home.Mr. Garavelli,(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/1a.wav) answering the question on whether the dust was bad where he worked, stone sheds. He help me learn that a worker’s job was difficult and had problems that workers had to deal and cope with to make a decent amount of money, This hazard would cause people to die from silica According to Mr. Garavelli, the more money you make at your work, the more likely you are going to die sooner since they are paid more to be near the dust that could take away their lives. He said it was tough to live in the early days and that the stone sheds were so bad that he wouldn’t even let his own son work there at all. As I read along with the interviews, I noticed that some of the people have bad grammar and way of pronouncing words. This helps me learn that early back, people didn’t get a large amount of education as they started young to work.A man at Eddie’s bar (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/6.wav) that had been in New York for 25 years. He talks about how New York was like with pimps, shooting, backbiting, all around the streets. He didn’t like the street life and he didn’t like New York at All. This excerpt showed me hoe it felt to walk down the street in the Famous New York. As much as I love New York, I don’t think I would have wanted to lived there either because of what lays there, I have learned how it felt to live in their time in the same place that I love at the moment. This helps me connect to the past and make a comparison to now. Grammy Miller(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/9a.wav) who askked about having to do the work that men usually did one day in the fall while her husband was hunting for the other boar he had killed before bringing his first boar. Grammy waited until midnight for her husband to return. So in concern of the pig, she cuts it up and places it on a sled to bring inside. When the after comes home, he was utterly surprised. This excerpt also let me understand how it felt to live during this time period as a woman who was neglected of her abilities, only because she was a woman, If I lived in this time, I would stick up for myself and tell the Grammy’s husband sand tell him myself that women could do any thing a man can! But these responses helped me understand what women of bravery and confidence. I felt sad that women were separated from men during this time.